[Sca-cooks] Fish success! Thank you all and recipe

[Jim and Andi Houston]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who shared their success stories
serving fish at feasts. I may never do a feast without fish again!

I wanted to do the "whole fish swimming on a bed of decorated rice" thing.
It worked! People ate it! It was relatively easy, not too expensive, and
really impressive.

Whole Poached Fish Swimming on a Bed of Decorated Rice with Sorrel Verjus
Fed 75 people as part of a large feast

7 lb whole fish, cleaned and gutted, smile and tail intact (I found whole
fresh Mahi-mahi for $2.99/lb)
Stems of parsley, tops of celery, whole peppercorns
1/2 bottle of verjus or white wine

5 lb basmati rice
1/4 lb butter
1/2 cup oil
3 tbl salt
20 c water
1/2 lb butter
Teaspoon of saffron threads
1 lb slivered almonds

1/2 bottle of verjus
2 bunches fresh sorrel
1 bunch parsley
Salt and sugar

In a very large pot, melt butter and oil together. Add rice and toss
continuously until at least half of the rice is opaque. Add water and salt
and bring to a full rolling boil. Immediately cover tightly and pile cans on
top of the lid to that no steam escapes. Put in a warm place like on top of
the convection oven. Leave it alone for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes check
the rice for done-ness, it should be perfectly steamed and separate. Melt
butter, crush saffron thread with a mortar and pestle, add to hot butter,
add slivered almonds. Pour butter over rice and stir through, carefully so
as not to break up the rice grains too much. Put cover back on rice.

Coarsely chop sorrel and parsley. Throw in food processor. Process slowly
while pouring in enough verjuice to make a thin sauce. Taste and add salt
and sugar until sharpness is just barely blunted. (This sauce was AMAZING)

Find a shallow pan large enough for fish. Put any herbs or stock veggies on
the bottom, then lay fish on top, then pour on wine or verjus, then pour
water on just to barely cover fish. Bring fish up to a simmer and simmer
until cooked through. 

To assemble: Find tray long enough for fish. Pile with rice and make a ditch
in the middle. Using 4 people with 2 spatulas each, lift fish out of
poaching liquid. Lay on rice. Using plates as stabilizers, turn fish so it's
on its belly in the "ditch" of the rice. Fluff the rice. Take IMMEDIATELY
out to the hall, parade around, bring it back to the kitchen. Quickly take
the fish off the rice using plates. Do NOT break the fish! Using forks,
start lifting the flesh off one side of the fish. If you move fast and the
fish is still hot, it will lift right off the bones. Once most of the flesh
is taken off, lift out the tail, spine and head in one piece. Don't forget
the eat the cheeks! That's the best part of the fish! Then the rest of the
flesh is left. Split fish and rice into platters for service, and serve.
This must happen very fast as the fish cools quickly, I think we did it in
less than 5 minutes using 4 people.